Tru-Design LLC wins two 2017 R&D 100 awards from R&D Magazine

KNOXVILLE, TN – November 20, 2017

Tru-Design LLC was recognized, along with co-developers Polynt-Reichhold Group and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, for Large-Format Additive Coating Solutions in the Process/Prototype category. The award for a high-temperature coating and a high build room temperature coating for large area additive manufacturing was given at the 55th annual R&D Magazine award ceremony for the top 100 technologically significant new products of the year. In the Mechanical/Materials category, Tru-Design was also an award winner as a co-developer for Additively Printed High-Performance Magnets developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The other co-developers of the technology were Ames Laboratory, Critical Materials Institute, Magnet Applications Inc., and Momentum Technologies.

Tru-Design’s CEO Rick Spears stated, “Tru-Design is honored to be recognized in the same company with our nation’s national laboratories and fortune 500 corporations. Our coatings have been instrumental in the usability of large format polymer based additively manufactured tools and products by providing smooth surfaces and vacuum integrity for both room and high-temperature applications.”

About Tru-Design LLC

Tru-Design is the world’s leading expert in coatings for large area 3D printed polymer based manufacturing tools and products. Tru-Design is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

About The Polynt-Reichhold Group

The Polynt-Reichhold Group, established through the merger of Polynt Composites and Reichhold, is a global leader in thermosetting resins used for coatings, composites and gel coats. The Polynt-Reichhold Group has a presence on five continents and has specialized global research centers around the globe. Polynt Americas is headquartered in Carpentersville, Illinois.

About Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s research and development contributions to these awards were supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO). AMO supports early stage applied research, development, and demonstration of new materials, information, and processes that improve American manufacturing’s energy efficiency, as well as platform technologies for manufacturing clean energy products. UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the U.S., and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://science.energy.gov/

For additional information please contact: John Miller, Tru-Design, 800-285-9030 jmiller@trudesign.net

Award Information

Office of Science Laboratories: Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Ames Laboratory

Other Partners: Critical Materials Institute; Magnet Applications Inc.; Tru-Design LLC; Momentum Technologies

Name of Project: Additively Printed High-Performance Magnets

For the first time, Oak Ridge National Laboratory used its Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) method to 3D print Additively Printed High-Performance Magnets. In contrast to more common sintered magnets that require manufacturers to apply very high pressure to chemically reactive materials, bonded magnets are less expensive and less resource-intensive to produce. The bonded magnets made using BAAM have superior magnetic performance and tensile strength compared to bonded magnets produced by other methods. They can be fabricated into intricate shapes with no size limitations. Because the manufacturing process consumes less energy than other technologies and generates almost no rare-earth material waste, it is also more economical and sustainable.

Office of Science Laboratory: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Other Partners: Tru-Design, LLC; Polynt Composites

Name of Project: Large-Format Additive Coating Solutions

Large-scale 3D printing can quickly produce prototypes and molds used to manufacture parts, but these pieces are often neither smooth nor vacuum tight. As a result, manufacturers can’t use these molds to produce composite components, parts made of several different types of materials. As manufacturing increasingly focuses on composite parts, this challenge limits the usefulness of 3D printing. The Large-Format Additive Coating Solutions, TD Coat RT and TD Seal HT, minimize this problem. Using a nano-scale filler, they cover the rough exterior of a printed part and create an unbroken vacuum-tight seal.

For more information about ORNL’s awards and the partner awards TruDesign received, click here to read ORNL’s article.